COVID-19 - new governmental restrictions

Polish government has introduced further restrictions regarding the coronavirus. From April 1 until further notice, any person under 18 will leave the house only under the care of an adult guardian, and parks, boulevards and beaches will be closed. For breaking the bans there is a penalty from 5,000 to even 30,000. zł. In addition, there are changes in the rules of shopping in stationary stores and suspension of businesses like hair, beauty or tattoo salons. What else is changing?

Restrictions on the number of customers in stores, at trade fairs, at the post office (from 01/04/2020)

• Shops and service points - 3 people for cash or paying position

A maximum of as many people as the product of the number of all cash registers and the number 3 can enter each store (both small and large-area), as well as each commercial premises.

EXAMPLE This means that if there are 5 cash registers in the shop, there can be 15 customers in the shop at one time.

EXAMPLE If there are 3 service stations in the bank, there can be 9 people in the bank at one time.

Important! The total number of cash registers counts, not the ones that are open.

• Marketplace - 3 customers per 1 trading point

Fairs, stalls and bazaars will also be affected by similar aggravations. The only difference is that the number of people at the market cannot be more than three times the number of points of sale.

EXAMPLE If, therefore, there are 20 such points in a local bazaar, a maximum of 60 customers can be in its area at one time.

• Post offices - 2 people for 1 post counter

There can be as many people in the post office as the number of post counters multiplied by 2.

EXAMPLE If there are 5 windows in an institution, then 10 people can be in it at one time.

Limiting the functioning of construction stores and new obligations for all stores

Large-scale construction stores will be closed on weekends.

However, all stores will have to adapt to new, stricter safety rules:

- from April 2 (Thursday) all customers will shop in disposable gloves,
- from 10 am to noon, shops and services can only receive people over 65 years of age. At other times, shops and commercial premises are available to everyone, including those over 65 years of age.

Closed hotels and other accommodations

Hotels and other accommodation (operating on a short-term rental basis) are closed. They can function only when they are in quarantine or isolation, as well as when medical personnel are in them.

Important! Guests who stay in these facilities at the time the new rules enter into force must check out by Thursday, April 2, 2020.

However, this does not apply to persons who are on a delegation and use accommodation services as part of their duties. Hotels remain open for these people.

Automatic quarantine for loved ones in quarantine (1/04/2020)

We are expanding the list of people who will be subject to mandatory home quarantine. It will cover everyone who lives with a person quarantined. The rules will apply to people who are in one apartment with people quarantined from Wednesday, April 1, 2020.

EXAMPLE So if one of your household (roommates) will be quarantined from April 1, 2020 because of:

return from abroad
contact with the infected
- You'll have to do it too.

Suspension of rehabilitation and closing of beauty and hairdressing salons

All hairdressers, cosmetics, tattoo and piercing salons are closed without exception. These services will also not be available outside showrooms - e.g. home visits are not an option.

We also suspend rehabilitation and massages - both in public and private facilities. The exceptions are situations in which rehabilitation is absolutely required by the patient's state of health.

It is forbidden to leave the home by persons under 18 without adult supervision

Children and adolescents under 18 years of age will not be able to leave the home unattended. Only the presence of a parent, legal guardian or adult justifies their presence on the street.

However, restrictions on the movement of all persons remain. You still can't leave the house except:

- travel to work. If you are an employee, run your own business or farm, you have the right to get to your job. You also have the right to buy goods and services related to your professional activity.
- volunteering to fight COVID-19. If you work to fight coronavirus and help those in need to be in quarantine or who should not leave your home, you can move around as part of this activity.
- dealing with matters necessary for everyday life. You will be able to move around to do the necessary shopping, buy medicines, see a doctor, look after relatives and walk the dog.

It is forbidden to use parks, beaches, boulevards, promenades and city bikes

There is a ban on staying on beaches and green areas that have public functions. Therefore, the ban applies to parks, green areas, promenades, boulevards, botanical and zoological gardens, and Jordanian gardens. Recent experience shows that these are places where people accumulate and thus increase the chances of infection.

For this reason, we limit the use of city bikes.

2 meters - minimum distance between pedestrians

We introduce the obligation to maintain a distance of at least 2 meters between pedestrians. This also applies to families and loved ones.

The following will be excluded from this obligation:

- parents with children requiring care (up to 13 years old),
- as well as disabled persons and persons unable to move independently and their carers.

Offices for remote work

Public institutions will perform their duties remotely. The exception may only be activities in which remote work does not guarantee the possibility of performing their key duties.

Passenger limit also on 9+ vehicles (from April 2, 2020)

In public transport, the principle "as many passengers as half as many seats in the vehicle" already applies.  requirement is extended to vehicles with more than 9 seats, including private transport - e.g. delivering to work in an organized way, or private carriers.

EXAMPLE If there are 20 seats on the bus, a maximum of 10 people can enter the vehicle at one time.

Important! The restriction will come into force on Thursday, April 2, 2020 and does not apply to passenger cars.

Work places - additional safeguards for employees (from April 2, 2020)

Employers will have to provide additional security measures for their employees. And yes:

- individual work stations must be at least 1.5 meters apart.
- employees must wear gloves and have access to disinfectant fluids.

Important! The employer must provide these security measures from Thursday, April 2, 2020.

Source: www.gov.pl